Indian tattoos, also known as Native American tattoos, are some of the most popular tattoo designs around today. They are worn by both Native Americans and those who feel a deep connection to Indians and their ancestry.
There are hundreds of great designs to choose from and each one of those designs comes with at least one great meaning. The trick is to find an Indian tattoo that matches who you think you are or what you want to represent.
Before we get into some of the most popular Indian tattoos and their meanings, we should go over in a bit more detail who should get one of these designs and who shouldn’t. It can be seen as offensive if you get an Indian tattoo for no other reason than the fact that it looks good.
Prime candidates for Indian tats are those who are Native Americans themselves or are at least honoring Native Americans. Otherwise, it might be a better idea to go for a completely different design that has meanings you like.
Arrows are perhaps the most prevalent of all of the Indian tattoo designs in the world today. Ultimately, what arrow tattoos say about their owners is that they will protect everyone around them. This is a great tattoo to get if you take pride in being there for those who are special to you. The arrows, no matter how big or small, will tell everyone who sees them that you do all you can for your family and friends.
If you want to get a smaller Indian tattoo, you might want to go with the arrowhead. These tattoos can be placed pretty much anywhere on the body, including the fingers and toes, and they symbolize the wearer’s ability to face every obstacle they come across in their lives. This is a great Indian tattoo to get if you don’t let the little things get to you and can easily overcome life’s challenges.
Another extremely popular Indian tattoo is the dreamcatcher, both because it is one of the most attractive designs around and because it is meaningful to a lot of people. Similar to the arrow tattoo, the dreamcatcher represents protection, but it is more about protecting the owner of the tattoo rather than the owner protecting everyone around them.
Another classic Indian tattoo design comes in the form of the teepee. The teepee tattoo has a bunch of nice meanings, but the main one is family. You can get this tattoo to remember family members who have passed or to show that your family means more to you than anything else in the world. Some people even get their family members’ initials on the teepee to clarify that meaning, but that’s definitely unnecessary.
As you probably know, there are many animals that have been revered by Native Americans for centuries. If you want to get a Native American tattoo with an animal in it, then you will also want to check the meanings that come with that animal. Many people will opt to get an extra Native American symbol along with their animals to make it clearer that they have an Indian tattoo.
Those who want to get a larger piece might opt to get two or more of these Indian tattoo designs, or even get a classic Native American story tattooed on your back or chest. For example, a classic battle might mean a lot to you, so you can get a tattoo of a scene from that battle.
Placement of Indian tattoos is sometimes just as important as the designs themselves. In fact, some people opt to get specific designs simply because they fit in the areas of their bodies that they want to get their tattoos. There are some designs that can fit on most parts of your body, but there are others that might look better as a sleeve or, if they’re larger, as arm, back, or chest tattoos.
When you are going over all of your Indian tattoo options, it would be a good idea to think about how they would look on different parts of your body. Would your design work well as a chest tattoo? Or maybe it has a wrapping effect and would look better as a wrist or ankle tattoo. This is the type of thing you’ll want to talk to an artist and/or your tattooist about. They can put the image on your skin in different places so you can see where you think it looks best.
The Indian tattoo sleeve is certainly shooting up the ranks of popular Native American designs. This is an excellent option if you are getting a portrait of a Native American chief or some other important figure, and it’s also a good option for animal tattoos. Obviously, sleeves are very public and detailed tattoos in most cases, so you will want to work with a tattoo artist who will give you an Indian tattoo that you will be very honored to show off.
Like with most tattoos, you shouldn’t just go to the closest tattoo shop to get your Indian tattoo done. Instead, check around to see which artists have done those types of designs in the past so you can up your chances of getting exactly what you imagined. Chances are you will find at least one artist who has done hundreds of great Indian tattoos and can go into the shop confident that he or she will do it right.
If you do your homework and look over multiple designs before committing, you should end up with an Indian tattoo that you can be proud of. Regardless of what you choose, you should end up with a design that both shows off your pride in Native American culture and tells others about who you are as a person. What’s really great about Indian tattoos is that people very rarely regret getting them since they have deeper meanings than most other designs out there.